A Leap Through Time
by Madame Renard
Summary: Sequel to Through the Crystal Ball. The boys are back, and ready for anything the future throws at them- enemies and friends alike. Take a breath, take a bow, and take the leap.
1. The Beginning! The Hero's a Thief?

The world was tainted.

Marred by insanity and corrupted by madness, the sky and earth screamed for salvation. The sky, red and black, poured fiery rain onto the dry earth, scalding the long dead flora. Blackened trees stretched out, filling the new space with clawed branches. The fauna cried out, burning. They were dying, dying. Kishin laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

Until Death came to kill the laughter.

True, Death was a person, but he wasn't a wise sage like some may think. The Death of this world was smaller, louder, and not very bright. But the Death of redemption had something his predecessors didn't— a burning desire to once again bring the world into balance.

"BACK OFF!" Death, or (as he would rather go by) Shinigami, shouted as he swung his foot around and planted it in the side of the monster in front of him. The Kishin flew to the side with the force of the blow and tumbled along the ground. Shinigami wiped the blood from the side of his mouth as he tried to catch his breath. Earlier, he and his partner Eibon had been attacked by a hoard of Kishin. The two had separated in an attempt to thin the crowd. It hadn't appeared as if they had gotten anywhere, and the Reaper's stomach growled with hunger.

Shinigami had grown since he had become the Reaper three short years ago. Now a healthy fifteen year old, he had shot up in height and— as a side effect of becoming a god— had grown a short spike from the back of his head, directly attached to the part in his black hair. It had long stopped bothering him, although he couldn't quite get over the soft "boing" noise it made when he pulled it, much like a spring. Along with the strange spike, he now had three complete white lines haloing his otherwise jet black hair. As for clothes, he had already outgrown his old cloak. Therefore, he now sported a new one, the tails for this one coming down all the way to his ankles. The collar wrapped around his shoulders and ended in two spikes— one on either side of his body. He looked like any other teenager, really. It was just the sickly yellow eyes and oddly striped hair that threw others off. Oh, and the new spike.

"Eibon! How are you holding up, buddy?" Shinigami yelled across the clearing. His partner, Eibon, turned his head to glance at the reaper. Eibon had also grown since the battle for power, although he still only came to Shinigami's shoulders. With this new growth spurt, he had actually grown _into_ his clothes, which had always been too big for him. His chocolate brown pants, cut so they came only to his knees, no longer needed to be tied. The lab coat was still a little bit long; well, rather, what was left of it. Years of fighting had worn it down considerably, leaving rips and holes in his shoulders and sleeves. He had managed to keep his two layered shirts, one red and one green, and his precious scarf relatively intact. However, even with the growth, he still seemed thin and meager, especially when compared to Shinigami. He swiped at another Kishin with his transformed arm, slightly sweating.

"Not so great," he groaned miserably. He had been fighting for the better part of the day, he hadn't eaten, and he was _exhausted._ Panting, he warded off another attack with his bladed arm.

Shinigami stopped, thinking as he tried to catch his breath. He looked around, grinning when he finally found something. Bowling over Kishin as he ran, he made his way over to a dead tree and stripped it of one of its branches. Shinigami knocked it a few times to make sure it was sturdy enough, then smirked. He jumped down from the tree and smacked a nearby Kishin in the face with his new weapon, sending it flying.

Shinigami's grin widened.

Another new trick to being the reaper was the advanced soul-sensing capabilities. Shinigami didn't necessarily look with his eyes when he fought; rather, he sensed where the Kishin souls were in relevance to his own and attacked that way. This way, he could sense the Kishin souls coming at him from any angle. He blocked an attack from his right without looking and stabbed the monster in the stomach with the sharp end of the branch. The Kishin cried out and began to deteriorate into black ribbon, leaving behind a round, red soul.

Shinigami twirled the branch in his hand and got to work.

Seeing his partner's success, Eibon tried to focus better on his enemies. After all, he was the one with the blade. He dodged an incoming Kishin and spun around hastily as it recovered and spun in order to charge again. As it drew nearer, Eibon readied his blade, raising it above his head. The Kishin was within a hairsbreadth of distance when Eibon finally cut down, slicing right through its cracked, dry skin. It exploded much like its teammate, leaving behind the same blood red soul.

Realizing he could only stab to inflict a fatal wound, Shinigami kicked away another Kishin and drove the stick through another body. When he had cleared enough space for himself, he snapped the branch in half. As another snarling Kishin pounced, the teen dropped to the ground, bathed in shadow as the Kishin sailed over his head. Gripping one of the branch pieces, he thrust the end into the monster's stomach. It screamed and promptly burst.

Shinigami fought and stabbed, using the branches to pull the Kishin in and end them in different ways. Head, back, anywhere was as good as any to drive the branch through. Eibon sliced and cut through the monsters, even stabbing one in the stomach as it approached.

When they finished, the clearing had become a field of red souls.

The same thought ran through both of their minds: _We can't keep this up._

"Eat up, Ei! I'll go find some food." With that, Shinigami turned on his heel and strode away. Eibon frowned and gingerly took hold of a nearby soul. He hated this part; why did souls have to be so _big?_ Stretching his mouth out to as far as it could go, he carefully placed it on his tongue and closed his mouth. He could feel a tiny surge of power course through him as he chewed the soul. He swallowed and felt the soul slide down his throat, leaving a cool trail of sticky slime. He shuddered and turned, groaning at the sheer amount of souls he would have to inhale.

Meanwhile, Shinigami had broken into a run, shooting past rows of dead trees. He assumed this place used to be a forest. The Kishin had turned this beautiful land into a graveyard. And it was all _his_ fault. Shinigami grit his teeth upon thinking of his father. He swiftly navigated through the maze of roots and tree stumps, dashing this way and that, using tree trunks for leverage and a place to push off from and increase his speed. In a few moments, the forest finally ended and made way to the hills.

He stood in awe of the enormous city before him. Houses here resided on layers, snuggled into the knolls. At this time of day, citizens were out tending to their animals or doing laundry. Children played in the streets with sticks and rocks. Shinigami spared them a glance before making his way through town, hearing with advanced senses the gossip from the ladies and the talk of the working men. As this was his first time coming to this town, no one questioned his presence. He frowned and peered around.

"Where's the damn temple in this place?" he grumbled angrily, shielding his eyes from the sun as he turned this way and that. In order to please the gods, the food offered were some of the best in the town. And judging by the size of the town, Shinigami would have a feast tonight. He licked his lips hungrily, slurping up a bit of drool that had leaked from the corner of his mouth.

Suddenly overcome with the thought of food, Shinigami broke into a run. _I've got to find that temple! _he yelled in his head, hunger overpowering all his senses. He zoomed past the gossiping ladies and playful children, heading to the top of the hill. The temple was usually placed at the head of everything in the town to symbolize the gods' presence. He ignored the angry shouts and cries as he climbed a particularly steep hill, driven by only determination and hunger. Clawing into the ground as he ascended, he toppled over the crest and landed on his back, sighing in satisfaction. He stood up and gazed upon a grand, stone temple.

Grinning, he trotted over to the entrance and entered with his head high and back straight. Knowing he didn't have much time before the citizens put two and two together, he swiftly gathered as much food as he could shove into the pockets of his cloak. As he was squeezing a fruit into the inside pocket, he heard a footstep behind him. His body immediately locked up with panic, but he forced himself to turn and grin.

To his surprise, there wasn't an angry mob with torches and pitchforks. A girl only two or three years older than him stood there, her body and face obscured by the long black cloak she wore. By her outfit, Shinigami guessed she was some sort of storyteller. Perhaps an assistant, given her age. She began to walk over to him, her bare feet brushing against the dusty stone floor. When she reached him, she bowed.

The young reaper blinked in surprise. "Hello."

The storyteller extended her hands. In them was a small package, wrapped in cloth. She placed the gift in Shinigami's hesitant hands.

"Thank you," was all Shinigami could choke out, extremely confused. Most of the time people _punished_ for stealing. Here he was _rewarded?_

"No, it is you who should be thanked," the girl spoke, her voice monotone but words genuine. "Thank you for saving our dying world, Reaper."

The boy grinned and scoffed. "Hey, it's my world too!" he laughed, rubbing the back of his head nervously. He wasn't used to being thanked just yet, but it felt wonderful. The storyteller quietly giggled with him before bowing once more and turning to leave.

Shinigami watched her go with a small smile on his face. Tucking the gift into his pocket, he left the temple with a bulging cloak and a big smile.

The smile faded as he was greeted by a mob of angry citizens wielding pitchforks and torches.

Shinigami laughed nervously, scratching his temple. As he saw the citizens tense for battle, the laugh died and he shot out of the temple grounds, hotfooting it into the city. He slid down the steep hills, generating a cloud of dust as he descended. A lady folding her laundry coughed and yelled as he passed, but he ignored her as he ran into the city's inner walls.

He glanced behind nervously. The mob had descended the hills as well, and were now several feet away from him, yelling angrily. Several guards, hearing the commotion, had left their posts to join the furious crowd. _I've gotta slow 'em down somehow, _the young reaper panicked. He skidded into a nearby alley and ran forwards. As he came across a merchant's stand, he jumped and latched onto one of the woven branches on the roof's ceiling. As he swung across, he knocked over many of the merchant's priceless vases, purposely aiming them to land in the street. They crashed as he landed on the other side and continued to run.

Unfortunately, his trick only slowed the women in the mob down. The more powerful and less moral men simply jumped over the broken vases as the women bent to pick them up. Shinigami growled and turned another street corner, coming into the market square.

He glanced around, looking for a way to escape. Suddenly, he saw a pack of black robed holy men, their heads bowed. Shinigami snuck into the middle of their group and bowed his head as well, folding his hands and pretending to be praying. That is, until he heard a yell.

"There he is!"

The young reaper cursed, thinking that would work. "Thanks, guys!" he told the men, patting one on the shoulder before hastily making his escape. Running into another alley, he jumped onto a nearby wall and, using it as leverage, propelled himself to the roof of a low building. Unfortunately, the food weighed him down considerably, and he misjudged his jump. He just barely caught the edge of the building, his fingers scrambling for something to hold onto and his feet slipping on the side of the building as he struggled. Glancing behind him, he gasped as he swung his body to the left to avoid a sword strike from one of the guards. The unarmed men took to throwing rocks at him, one smacking directly against the base of his head. Shinigami groaned as his vision went white for a moment, then sharply snapped into focus as he heard a sword embed itself approximately three inches from his left leg.

He finally found footing in a crack in a wall, and used the small leverage to hoist himself up. He scrambled to his feet and started across the rooftop. Hearing noises from behind, he glanced back and noticed the guards climbing the walls. He started to panic; what if he couldn't lose them in time? He leapt across an alley and onto another roof when he saw it- one jump between two buildings. The last jump before the forest. A jump no one was able to make, especially when weighed down by produce and dead animals.

But Shinigami liked to think positively.

He raced across another roof and another jump, now on the building of the big jump. Behind him, he could hear the guards: "He'll never be able to make that. We'll have him then." Smirking, he increased his speed. The edge drew closer and closer as he approached. Pushing himself to his limit, the reaper began to time his steps as he neared the edge.

Finally, he stepped directly onto the edge and pushed off of it, driving himself into the air. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as he sailed through the air. He grit his teeth, willing every fiber in his being to go an inch further. The ledge of the opposite building drew closer and closer, until...

Shinigami slid forward as he landed on his feet, crouching low as to avoid injury. He jogged away as the dust settled, snickering to himself.

"Suckers!" he snorted.

* * *

><p>"I return with a feast!" Shinigami announced proudly as he strolled into the clearing. Eibon sat up from his laying position on the ground and gave Shinigami an annoyed look.<p>

"Don't steal more than you need to," he scolded quietly. "You're taking from innocent people!"

"Who were offering up precious food to things that don't exist!" Shinigami complained. "They should be offering that to _me!_"

"But now they'll have to replace that food," Eibon reminded him. "Those people are suffering just as much as we are!"

Shinigami threw a mango in Eibon's lap. "Eat up," he said simply. "We don't know when we're going to eat again."

Eibon didn't argue. As he bit into the sweet, red fruit, he heard Shinigami chomping noisily on a piece of cooked meat. Eibon looked up in repulsion as Shinigami chewed on the food without biting, leaving it slobbery and disgusting. The younger sighed, absentmindedly licking the juice that had dribbled from the bite in the fruit. He watched as Shinigami haphazardly tossed food from his cloak while eating. It was the usual items: fruit, meat, bread. Eibon was struck by curiosity when Shinigami threw a package down, however.

"What's in there?" he asked. He immediately began to hypothesize. Maybe it had been a gift from a child, or a poor woman, in return for the gods' favor.

"Huh? Oh, that. And before you give me that look- hear me out!-I actually didn't take it. A storyteller gave it to me. Dunno what's inside."

"It could be a trap!" Eibon accused.

"What could possibly be inside that could harm us?" Shinigami pointed out. "At this point, there's nothing we can't use. Anyway, I thought it was nice."

"I still don't trust it. Why would they just give it to you for no reason?"

The reaper sighed, shrugging. "Like I said, I dunno. If it bothers you so much, let's open it up, Mr. Paranoid."

Eibon tensed as Shinigami put down the meat and reached for the package. His fingers traced the outline of the folded fabric, looking for the source. Finding it, he gently tugged the cloth off.

And laughed.

"Look, Eibon," he said, showing the boy the gift. "It's a present from Mabaa."

It was a beautifully sculpted clay figure of a dragon, its teeth bared and eyes sharp. It was very finely detailed, even down to the texture of the scales and roughness of its wings. Shinigami gazed it appreciatively, a smile gracing his face as he turned it this way and that.

"I-It could be one of her bombs!"

"Calm down, Ei. I think it's nice." He held it to his chest, gently stroking its head. "I wonder if she made this herself."

Eibon could only groan and fall forward, smacking his head against the ground.

Tucking the gift into his cloak pocket, he quickly changed the subject. "Ah, so Eibon, did you find shelter?"

The boy shook his head regretfully. "Sorry, I couldn't find anything. No caves, no nothing."

"Ah." The reaper gazed at the dead tree branches. "Then I guess we're sleeping in a tree tonight." He sighed. "I hate that..."

"Sorry."

"Don't be."

"No, I mean for-"

"Don't be."

* * *

><p>Hard. It was very hard where his head rested. Curious. He distinctly remembered falling sleep on Shinigami's soft shoulder. A very confused Eibon stirred, clawing at the rough bark under him. In an attempt to sit up, he moved the slightest bit to the right.<p>

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open as he fell through the air with a gasp. His back smacked against the tree trunk and he spun along the ground before coming to a stop. He groaned as pain shot up his back. Bearing with the extreme pain, he heaved himself up and sluggishly stumbled along the ground.

"Shingam-samah?" he slurred sleepily, yawning. He forced his tired eyes to open fully— or, at least, halfway. He caught a glimpse of black laying on a hill by the clearing before his eyes closed again. Using moonlight to guide him, he dragged himself to the hill and collapsed on his back next to the black object, the searing pain shooting up his spine again.

"I guess you're wondering why I'm not sleeping," the black thing began, and Eibon knows his guess was correct by the sound of his friend's voice.

"Mm," he hummed tiredly.

"I can't sleep." A sigh. "Something's been bothering me lately."

"Mm?"

Shinigami paused. "...I miss Kid."

"Mm."

"I miss him so much. It...it kills me to know that I won't see him for another- well, who knows how long. And by then, I'll be an adult. I'll think differently. I probably won't even remember."

"Mm."

"And I miss Liz and Patty, too. I miss them all."

"I miss them too," Eibon mumbled through only slightly parted lips.

"And...I just...I can't wait. I don't want to wait."

"You have to."

Shinigami raised himself on his elbow to glare at his friend with glowing yellow eyes. "No, I don't! I want to see him!"

"You have a duty here."

Shinigami growled, throwing himself back on the grass angrily. "You don't understand. You're not a father."

"Neither are you!" At this point, Eibon had awoken some more. "You'll just have to accept that you won't see him for a while. But remember your promise! You're here because you're fighting for him to be able to live peacefully! Don't you want that? You don't want Kid to grow up in this place, do you?"

"..." Shinigami sighed in defeat. "No."

"Good."

After a few moments, the tension slowly dissipated. Shinigami glanced over to his partner, only to see that the boy had already fallen asleep. The reaper shook his head.

"I need you, you know," Shinigami murmured, knowing that Eibon was quite the heavy sleeper and thus wouldn't hear him. "I know I act like a jerk all the time, but really I don't know what I'd do without you."

There were a few moments of silence before the reaper boy slowly closed his eyes, letting sleep overtake him.

He didn't see Eibon's soft smile.

* * *

><p><strong>Shinigami: <strong>Yo! What's up? Shinigami here! Well, how'd you guys like the first chapter? I know it must be awesome because I was in it.

**Eibon: **Tell them about the story.

**Shinigami: **Huh? Oh, yeah! Welcome to A Leap Through Time! Action! Comedy! Drama!

**Eibon: **Romance.

**Shinigami: ***claps hands over Eibon's mouth, muffling Eibon's protests* No! No romance! This is Soul Eater! We ain't in no shoujo manga!

**Eibon: **On the next chapter of A Leap Through Time- "The Leap Through Time! Shinigami and Eibon's Grand Entrance?"

**Shinigami: **Wait, what's a shoujo manga?

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:**__ I know what you're thinking: "Star, you finished _Through the Crystal Ball_ six months ago!" And to that I say "It was five." But my point is, it also sucked. Barely a plot, no character development...it was just terrible. I would edit it, but I don't even know where to start. So in exchange, I'm gonna make this the best fanfic I've ever written. There's plot! Other characters! Character arcs! And Shinigami! Just use _Through the Crystal Ball _as reference. Damn, I love this story and I haven't even written most of it yet. Trust me guys, it's gonna be awesome. So take a breath, take a bow, and take the leap!_


	2. The Leap Through Time!

Eibon never asked for this. If it was up to him, he would have been back at his house. He'd be alone and in danger, but anything was better than putting up with Shinigami's wild and untamed nature. Unfortunately for him, he never really had a choice.

The hazel-haired boy groaned silently as he felt something roughly scraping against his back. Something held him by the collar, hauling him brusquely along the ground. Suddenly, he found himself being lifted into the air, his back dragging along something that was perpendicular to the ground. Then he was parallel to the ground once more. Very confused and with a strong desire to ignore it and go back to sleep, Eibon opened his eyes.

He regretted it.

Like he had suspected, his friend was the one heaving him across the dry earth. However, he had also pulled Eibon up a tree and onto a thick branch. He glanced up to see Shinigami's jagged grin smiling down at him. Before he could protest, the reaper shoved a hand into Eibon's lab coat, grasping the glass paperweight held within. Ignoring Eibon's struggles, he brought it out and held it up, studying how the sun's early light struck it and made it glimmer. How beautiful, he mused. He brought the glass ball to his chest and closed his eyes.

He imagined Kid. Kid's smiling, happy face. Kid's face when nothing was symmetrical. Kid's honest gaze when he told the truth.

_I want to see Kid...please, take me to him!_

Shinigami's ears twitched as he heard a cracking noise. He glanced down to see that the crystal ball had split open in response to his pleas. He held it an arm's length away and watched in wonder as it suddenly unhinged, releasing a bluish white portal onto the ground beneath them. The portal spun and whirled, kicking up dirt and rocks. Shinigami raised his arm, the paperweight still in hand, and shielded his eyes from the torrent. Snapping it shut, Shinigami tucked the glass ball into his inner cloak pocket.

"You wouldn't."

Eibon's voice, loud and clear above the din, caused the reaper to look down. He chortled and grinned widely.

"Don't worry about it! I've got a plan, like always. You and me go through the portal thing. We drop in for a visit. Then we go back in time to this moment and it's like nothing happened!"

The other boy sighed. "I'm not sure about this. Time is very fickle..."

"Trust me! I've thought about this plan for a long time! Nothing can possibly go wrong!"

Eibon groaned. _Why do I feel like those will be his last words someday...?_ Knowing the battle was long over, the boy sighed in defeat. "Well, okay...but why are we up here?"

Shinigami threw his head back and cackled. "Well, that's because I wanted it to be a leap through time! Get it?"

"But, wait...wouldn't it be more like a fall-"

"HERE WE GO!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Shinigami dropped from the branch. Holding Eibon's collar in his left hand, he used his right arm to shield his eyes from the dirt and debris that had kicked up with the gateway's appearance. Eibon did the same, coughing heavily. Air swooshed past them as they fell, whipping both his cloak and Eibon's lab coat. They approached the portal, the entrance coming closer and closer until the two boys finally shut their eyes in anticipation.

They heard a whoosh noise above them before meeting the ground of the future with their faces.

"OW!" Shinigami leapt to his feet, holding his smashed nose. He growled in pain, his face red. Eibon writhed on the ground, covering his bright red face.

Then simultaneously, they looked onto the city before them.

"This is...Death City," Shinigami murmured. "My city."

The entire city looked like a mess of white buildings with red roofs, all stacked next to each other. Here and there a couple large skull structures were placed in between, and the city appeared to be separated by a series of cobbled streets and alleyways. On the very top, sitting high on the pile of red and white, stood a very strange looking building. It looked like a red and black castle with candles jutting from its sides. Above it, the sun laughed hoarsely.

"There!" Shinigami pointed to the out of place building. "That's it! That must be Shibusen!"

"It certainly looks like your work," Eibon muttered upon seeing how gaudy and symmetrical it was. Yes, this building embodied his friend very well.

"Well, let's go!" Taking his friend's hand, the reaper started across the shifting sand and into the entrance of Death City. The first cobbled street was raised, so the two took their time walking up. Shinigami glanced around in amazement as Eibon observed every detail very carefully. Most of the city had an old, cracked appeal to it- probably something the older Shinigami did as a reminder of his younger years. Also, he noticed that _everything_ in Death City had something to do with Death. There were businesses named after Death, the architecture was plastered with Shinigami's current mask, and every store had something about Death in its windows. Eibon gathered that Shinigami was well beloved in his city, something that should have been obvious. Shinigami, however, was star struck at the sight of him on everything. Eibon groaned, hoping all this fame wouldn't go to his partner's head.

"Hey, speaking of which," Eibon began, catching Shinigami's attention. "I don't think we should tell everyone who we are. I don't know about me, but it looks like you're famous. I think it would be weird if everyone knew that their great hero's younger self visited. I don't think we want to gather that type of attention."

"Oh, you mean like, we should have fake names?" At Eibon's nod, Shinigami continued with a grin, "Then I should have a name that says how amazing I am!" The reaper bowed his head to think, and Eibon thanked the gods for the silence. He really did like Shinigami, but sometimes he was too much for even Eibon to handle. Like this cockamamie plan of his to drop in to visit his son...nearly a thousand years into the future.

The two continued walking, not really sure of where they were going. They both silently assumed that if they kept walking, they would eventually reach the academy. Unfortunately, this plan was foiled as they walked into a dead end. They turned around simultaneously and continued in another direction. Eventually, they reached another dead end. This process repeated, until finally at their sixth dead end, Eibon lost his famed patience.

"Didn't you _build_ this city?" he yelled. "Why did you put in so many dead ends?"

"I don't know! This dead end looks sort of familiar anyway..."

"You mean we've already been here?"

Suddenly, a woman's voice broke in. "Shouldn't you boys be in school?"

The two boys turned around to see a young woman with kind brown eyes, smiling at them accusingly. Shinigami gently pushed Eibon out of the way.

"Yes, ma'am. We're new students at Shibusen, but we got lost," he explained as politely as he could, smiling. Eibon's jaw dropped. _You've got to be kidding, _he thought in disbelief.

"Oh, you two are Shibusen students?" The woman immediately brightened, her smile no longer accusing. She pointed to a street that the two had already taken. "It's that way, and once you get to the fountain, you have to take the road to the right. The straight road just takes you back here. Lord Death sure is a tricky one, huh?"

"Oh, yeah," Shinigami agreed, nodding and smiling in spite of his twitching eyebrow. "Well, thank you for the information, ma'am."

"No problem. Good luck!" Waving them off, the woman turned and left. Shinigami's eyebrow was still twitching, though he was no longer smiling. "He built all these dead ends just to confuse people?" he muttered. "I can't believe I fell for it..."

Eibon patted his friend's shoulder. "Come on, we've got a lot of ground to cover."

The two took the way as described by the woman and continued down a straight road, seeing the beginning of Shibusen's steps ahead of them. As they ascended, Shinigami could hardly contain his excitement. He couldn't wait to see his school, his older self and how great he would be, and his cute little boy again. Eibon walked along beside him, carefully calculating everything around him. He reached into his coat pocket and extracted a leather-bound book, cracking it open in order to scribble something down in it. Shinigami glanced over and smiled at his bright partner.

"Hey, Eibon. You know what would make you look really cool? If you wore that book on your hip. You know, tie it to your pocket or something." At Eibon's curious glance, Shinigami stopped and stooped down, gently taking the book from him. He untied Eibon's belt (grinning as he ignored the vehement protests and small whacks on the head) and looped the two ends of the cloth through the outer gold decorative casing of the book. He tied the ends together in the middle of it, tugging on the knot as he finished. Standing again, he smiled proudly. "There. Much better."

Eibon's flustered face slowly regained its color. "T-Thank you..."

Shinigami grinned and turned, continuing up the stairs. The two walked in silence for a minute, Shinigami marching up proudly as usual, and Eibon glancing at his hip every couple of seconds. He had to admit...he rather liked it.

The sun beat down on them, laughing after they had been climbing steps for five whole minutes. Shinigami's proud stride had deteriorated into a hunch, his arms dangling as if they had no bones. Eibon's gait had also become a little sagged, the scientist wiping sweat off his brow every so often. Coming from a mid-temperate climate zone, the two weren't quite used the hot Nevada weather yet.

_"IT'S HOT! IT'S SO HOT AND THERE ARE TOO MANY STEPS!"_ Shinigami suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs.

Eibon winced at the sudden noise, covering his ears. "Calm down! I think we're almost there!"

"Who dares to yell louder than the great Me?" came a yell.

The reaper's scowl softened into a curious frown. He blinked. "Who...?" he asked.

At that point, they had reached the top step. The boys stepped onto the grounds in front of the entrance, only to be met by a short boy about their age wearing a ninja-like outfit. He had spiky blue hair, gelled into the shape of a star. The mysterious boy glared at them. "Who are you to challenge the great Black Star?" he yelled, pointing at Shinigami. The reaper pointed to himself with a questioning look.

Not liking where this was going but knowing he had no choice in the matter, Eibon sighed and whispered, "I think he's challenging you to a fight."

Shinigami observed the boy's confident stare, then grinned. "Well, if it's a fight this kid wants, it's a fight he's got!"

Black Star charged forward, causing Shinigami to charge forward as well. Once they met, Black Star threw a fist to Shinigami's face. The reaper swiftly dodged to the right and kicked Black Star's legs. However, Black Star jumped and avoided the attack, extending his leg out to kick Shinigami in the face. The reaper leaned back, watching the foot fly up but never make its target. Black Star landed and glanced up to see Shinigami's leg raised. The assassin jumped back just in time to see the other's foot strike the ground, kicking up stones and dust.

Black Star grit his teeth, watching the reaper boy's bored expression. _What's up with him? This guy's like Kid. He even looks like Kid. Looks like he isn't so small after all._

"Hey, star-haired guy! You gonna fight or not?" Shinigami called out. "Or do you give up?"

"I'm the great Black Star! I never give up!" the ninja replied. He pointed at the reaper. "A punk like you is no problem for a big star like me!"

"Punk?" Shinigami repeated curiously. Before he had time to question, Black Star leapt up and threw his foot at him. Shinigami bent down, avoiding the attack. Before Black Star could land, however, Shinigami placed his hands on the ground and rolled forward with his leg raised. His foot connected with Black Star's body and sent the assassin flying. Shinigami stood as Black Star hit the ground.

Shinigami grinned. "Ready to give up _now_, punk?"

Eibon sighed. "He's already started to use words he learns from this time, huh...?" he muttered to himself. "I bet he doesn't even know what it means."

To both boys' surprise, Black Star got on his hands and knees and bowed his head. "Yes...I give up! You're a bigger guy than me!" he exclaimed dramatically, clutching his chest.

Shinigami blinked in disbelief, but soon turned around and began to gloat, his head held high. "I knew you'd come around. That's what you get for trying to pick a fight with a guy like me. I hope you learned your-" He was suddenly interrupted by fast taps of shoes on the ground. He sensed Black Star's soul bouncing closer to him. When he turned around, he saw Black Star's foot plow into the ground for support and his arms raise. An elbow rammed into his spine, making his vision go white for a moment. It was accompanied by a hand, and Shinigami could feel the huge soul wavelength emanating from it, coming out in the form of a spark.

"FINISHING STRIKE: BLACK STAR'S BIG WAVE!"

Suddenly, the battlefield lit up, Black Star's soul wavelength sparking and paralyzing the reaper. Shinigami choked for air, his entire body gone numb as it was bent backward. Black Star's eyes narrowed.

"Just kidding. I'm the biggest star around. Don't you forget it," Black Star warned. He twisted his wrist, and Shinigami felt the boy's enormous soul wavelength from the concentrated point of Black Star's hand travel all the way through his body, jolting his nerves awake. Before Shinigami could gather himself, he was blasted into the air. He yelled as he sailed high into the air, flying all the way over the school.

Eibon's jaw dropped to the ground. Black Star only smirked, standing straight.

The black-haired boy continued to yell as he hit the crest of his toss, hovering directly over the very spiky roofs of the highest towers. He then started his descent, falling through the air exponentially. As he neared the ground of a balcony on the other side of the school, he shut and covered his eyes, bracing for the impact.

Suddenly, his back hit something softer than he expected. Then he heard an angered cry. Confused, he opened his eyes and stared into pools of crimson.

"'Oh! I'm sorry!" he quickly apologized, but then noted the boy's red eyes, white hair, spiked teeth...he gasped, snapping his fingers in recognition. "You're Soul! Soul Eater!"

"Yeah...now can you get off me?" the boy deadpanned. Shinigami complied and climbed off, untangling their limbs. Soul brushed his jacket off, sitting up. Shinigami frowned and shifted uncomfortably. He attempted to start a conversation.

"Um, sorry for falling on you."

"It's no big deal. Who are you, anyway? Haven't seen you around."

Shinigami straightened, Eibon's words echoing in his mind. "I-It's...uh, Damien. Damien Clear."

Soul turned to him, giving a lazy smile. "Cool name." He extended his hand, and Shinigami took it, smiling._ Cool, huh...?_

"So, how did you manage to fall like that? Trying to fly?" Soul continued with a smirk.

"N-No!" Shinigami defended. "I was fighting this guy...he had the weirdest blue hair..."

"The Great Black Star is here!" announced the same voice. The two boys turned to see Black Star strolling up to them with Eibon in tow. The scientist ran up to his partner worriedly. "Are you alright?" he asked frantically. Shinigami laughed and waved him off. "I'm fine. Look who I met! This is the famous Soul Eater!"

Soul grinned. "Just Soul. Pleased to meet you." He extended his hand, and Eibon took it.

"Akito. Akito Toshihiro," he introduced. Shinigami grinned, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"HEY! We're not done!" Black Star yelled. The three boys turned to see the assassin perched on the ledge of the balcony, fist raised to the sky. He pointed at Shinigami dramatically. "I'm not done showing this kid how big of a star I am!"

"Just give it up already," Soul sighed. Shinigami grinned and got to his feet.

"Good, 'cause no one beats me!" he challenged. The two charged at each other once more, clashing in the middle. Shinigami blocked Black Star's punch with his arm, grabbing his wrist and spinning around to elbow the ninja boy in the stomach. He was cut off by a knee to the side, knocking him aside only slightly. He threw his leg up and to the right, aiming for Black Star's head. Black Star ducked, forcing Shinigami to complete his punt without an object to stop him. Shinigami slowed himself down, hopping from the loss of balance. Now Black Star took his chance and did a spin kick. Shinigami leaned back and managed to avoid it by a nose. He regained his balance and threw a punch, only for Black Star to block it with his hand. The reaper boy threw his leg straight up, breaking Black Star's hold. The two boys skidded away from each other from the force of the impact, both panting.

Soul and Eibon sighed simultaneously. Soul turned to him. "Is your friend like Black Star? Annoying?"

"He's nice once you get to know him," Eibon reassured. "It's just that he loves challenges...and hates to lose."

"What's going on here?" a new voice yelled. Soul and Eibon turned around to see a man with blood red hair standing at the entrance to the balcony. He was wearing a black blazer with a lime green shirt tucked into his pants and a cross-shaped tie. Eibon was about the answer him when he was interrupted by a yell.

He glanced back to see his striped-haired partner charge at Black Star, his feet pounding fast on the stone. Eibon's eyes widened when he saw Shinigami bend low. The reaper paused his rush to press his foot to the ground. He launched himself off using the leverage and leapt for Black Star, wrapping his arms around the assassin's torso. The two flew back, hitting the ground once before bouncing right over the ledge and onto the hill below.

* * *

><p><strong>Shinigami: <strong>YEAH! I'm the best! No one can beat me!

**Eibon: **No one?

**Shinigami: **Yeah!

**Eibon: **Not even...food?

**Shinigami: **Food can't fight, silly.

**Eibon: ***dark chuckle*

**Shinigami: **E-Eibon...?

**Eibon: **On the next chapter of A Leap Through Time- "Welcome to the Future! Shinigami and Eibon Part Ways?"

**Shinigami:** You're really freaking me out...

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**_ Holy crap you guys this chapter is so yaoi-tastic. If someone writes a oneshot with ShiEi, ShiSoul, or ShiStar I will dedicate a chapter to him/her. I'll also accept EiSoul and EiStar but I will be silently unhappy about the latter. Also, I decree this chapter's theme to be "Coloris" by She. Welcome to the future, you two..._

_P.S. Eibon's little pseudonym is actually something of a pun. "Akito" means "bright" and "Toshihiro" is "intelligent" + "wise" (or so I read on a Common Japanese Boys Names site). The joke is Eibon's sort of tooting his own horn. I wanted to do something similar with Shinigami and Yuudai (hero + great) but I really wanted to name him Damien and a Japanese surname didn't really fit. So I named him Clear, after the NicoNico singer. Damien Clear and Akito Toshihiro. Hm._


	3. Welcome to the Future!

Cries sounded out over the area as the blue-haired boy and the black-haired reaper tussled for control while spinning down a large, grassy hill. Shinigami and Black Star punched at each other's faces and kick at each other's knees, always keeping one body part grasped to the other. Both very capable fighters, neither of them never seemed to land a hit on the other. Like any normal boys, they yelled as loud as they could in their best battle cries.

They hit the bottom of the hill and rolled out onto the paved surface, still clawing at each other. Then someone grasped at their scruffs, wrestling them away from each other with great force. The two of them kicked and punched even when separated, before they realized they were being held three feet in the air by a man with red hair.

Once they did, the two hung there, pouting. The man with red hair spoke them, his tone angry.

"What are you two doing? I thought the rules were clear- no fights on school grounds unless supervised by an adult! Shinigami-sama is going to hear about this from you two personally." It was then that the man noticed that he had never seen the child in his right hand before. He bore a strong resemblance to Kid...but it couldn't be...

"Who are you?" he asked him. The boy looked at him for the first time with a huge grin on his face. "I'm Sh-" but he seemed to catch himself, and scratched his temple awkwardly. "I'm, uh, Damien Clear, sir. I'm a new student."

The man narrowed his eyes at the slip-up, but shrugged it away as nothing important. He set the two on the ground and pushed them towards the school. Naturally, Eibon followed his meister...leaving Soul to stand there and hope he wasn't seen skipping class. Luckily, he wasn't.

The four traveled the hallways of the school, Black Star slumped over in defeat and Shinigami and Eibon glancing around with astonishment. Eibon studied every hallway and corridor, making a mental map of the school, while Shinigami was content with just gawking at everything. The man, while intent on shoving the two troublemakers to Shinigami-sama, soon noticed the unexpected addition to their party.

"Who are you?" he asked Eibon. Eibon tore away from his intense gaze to look the man in the eye.

"I'm Akito Toshihiro, sir. Damien's partner."

"Weapon or meister?"

"Weapon. A scythe." Although he knew that weapons and meisters were common in this time, Eibon was still slightly shaken by the familiarity.

"A scythe, huh? So am I." The man smiled at him, catching Eibon off-guard. Usually when he and Shinigami were seen together, they judged Eibon based on Shinigami's wild behavior. The redhead didn't, treating him as any other stranger. Flustered by his kindness, Eibon quickly averted his gaze and absentmindedly glanced around.

"You know, my daughter's a scythe meister too. You seem like a nice boy with a bad partner. Maybe you and her can be partners," the man continued, chuckling. Eibon wasn't entirely sure whether he was joking or not. Shinigami didn't seem to realize the possibility of a joke.

"What? No! _I'm_ his partner! Ei- er, Akito's _my_ weapon!" Shinigami protested, stomping his foot like a child refusing to share his toys. The man only laughed, continuing to guide them towards the end of the school. Eventually the four reached a long way. At the end of it rested a large door with skull decorations. As best as he could while being herded by the redhead, Shinigami leaned over and whispered to Eibon. "That's my office. I call it."

Eibon only rolled his eyes in response.

The man knocked on the skull knocker, waiting for a response. One came almost immediately. "Come in~"

The redhead opened the door and jerked his head, motioning for the three to get their rear ends inside. Black Star trudged in with Shinigami and Eibon cautiously tip-toeing in behind him. Hearing the sound of the door close, Eibon looked behind him to see the man and the door gone. Looking around, he spotted the man walking beside him. He ran the calculations in his head. _But how could he have closed the door from that position? Unless he ran, which I don't think he did. The door...closes by itself? Where _is_ the door, for that matter?_ Eibon puzzled over his questions while Shinigami took in the architecture. He personally thought the guillotine-styled torii gates looming above (threatening to disembowel you at any time) were a nice touch.

Eventually they reached a small raised platform in the center of the room. Upon it was a tall shadow-like being standing in front of an equally tall mirror. The shadowy being wore a silly-looking skull mask and was covered in spikes extending out from his hips and shoulders. At the top of his "head" (that resembled less of a head and more of a top hat) stretched a long spike that bent upwards.

"Hiya, hiya, hiii~" Even when he spoke, his voice sounded just as cartoonish as his body. He bounced left and right, upsetting his spikes. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? Black Star, nice to see you again."

Black Star glared at him in reply.

"And-" the shadow stopped short when he saw Shinigami.

"Shinigami-sama, this is Damien Clear and his partner, Akito Toshihiro. They're new students. Damien got into an unsupervised fight with Black Star."

Shinigami froze. Did he hear that right? Did that man just address this _living breathing blob_ as 'Shinigami-sama'? No, that's impossible. He was supposed to be cool. People loved him, right? Then why did he look like a kishin threw up on him? Why weren't thousands of adoring fans (and women) gathered around him screaming, 'Shinigami-sama, we love you'? No one wanted to do that to...to this...blob thing! Why wasn't he _cool?_

"I see." Shinigami-sama paused for a moment before continuing. "Black Star, you're dismissed. I'll speak with you later. Spirit, you too."

"Yes Shinigami-sama." Shinigami started and glanced at the exiting redhead. That was Spirit, his Death Scythe! Oh, why didn't he see it earlier? He shook it off, as he had more pressing matters at the moment. Like why he looked like a piece of unglazed black clay with a skull mask.

As soon as he heard them leave, he spun towards the giant piece of clay in question. Unfortunately, the piece of clay got there first.

"Why are you two here?" the childish voice was gone, replacing with a much lower growl. Both Shinigami and Eibon quickly decided that they liked his previous voice a lot better.

"What are you talking about?" the boy replied coolly, able to keep his calm even in situations like this, "We were sent here because we got in trouble."

"Don't play games with me," Shinigami-sama warned, "even if I didn't know you were me from the past, your soul is the size of a large town. I'm surprised it hasn't been noticed yet."

"Is it really that big?" Shinigami wondered with amazement, stars in his eyes. He quickly caught himself, though. "Wait, how do you know...?"

Shinigami-sama sighed angrily and raised a giant white gloved hand to his mask. When he removed it, there was a man's face bearing very much similarity to Shinigami's. He had same deep golden eyes and the white striped hair. The only difference between the two was the sharper face shape of the elder and the longer coiled spike on the back of his head. Shinigami tugged at his own smaller one curiously. The elder's body had also shifted to a more human shape, with black pants and dress shoes.

"Because I'm you, you idiot."

Excited at this discovery, Shinigami pointed to his older self and yelled, "HAH! I knew it! I _am_ cool! I knew it, I knew it!" Eibon shook his head and Shinigami-sama rolled his eyes as Shinigami did a small dance, twirling around. He stopped shortly later. "Okay, I'm done."

"Great. Go home."

"What? No! I...I came to see Kid!" Shinigami argued.

"He's in class right now. Sorry," Shinigami-sama stated flatly, clearly not sorry in any way.

"I traveled a thousand years in the future!"

"And you shouldn't have. Time is fickle. Someone important told me that once."

"I don't care! I wanna see Kid! And..." Shinigami stopped short, panting not out of exhaustion, but because of his tense nerves and outbursts. "And...I wanna enroll in Shibusen!"

At this, Eibon's eyes widened. He thought that Shinigami just used that 'new student' excuse as just that- an excuse. He had no idea that Shinigami actually wanted to enroll here, if only for a short time. Noticing Eibon's surprise, Shinigami-sama turned to him.

"And what do you think about all this, Eibon?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at Eibon's jump. It chilled Eibon to the bone to see that this is what his outgoing friend would grow up to be. He seemed more mature and collected, not showing any of his younger rowdiness or anxiety. He had an air about him that emitted both wisdom and secrecy. The man before him was an enigma.

"Well...I don't think it would be too bad...if we enrolled here for a little bit. It could help us." Eibon's eyes traveled from Shinigami-sama's face to the left very rapidly, never seeming to be able to hold the reaper's gaze. "We'd have to be very careful, however."

"Do you think that the idiot beside you can be careful?"

"I think he can if he puts his mind to it. I think he's motivated enough to keep quiet about being a headmaster in the future." At this praise, Shinigami nodded his head rapidly and grinned at his older self.

Shinigami-sama stared at Eibon intensely for a moment, making the latter very uncomfortable. Eventually the elder sighed, lifting the edges of his cloak to place his hands in his pockets. Evidently, this habit had carried over to his older years. "Okay. I suppose he could enroll here for a small time. But very small. Remember, you still have responsibilities in your time."

"I know," Shinigami replied, waving his worries away.

"Right, then. All of the dorms are full, and you're an idiot, so naturally you'll have to be supervised at all times." Before his younger self could protest, he spun on his heel to face the tall mirror, quickly placing his mask back on. The mirror rippled and shimmered, and when the bright light faded, an image of a man with blue tattooed skin appeared.

"Hello, Sid-kun! Say, could you come to the Death Room? Oh and bring Stein and Spirit with you~" he asked in a passively commanding way, his silly voice returning.

"Yes, sir." Sid nodded, and his image began to shimmer away. Shinigami (now in his spiky form) turned around to face the two young boys.

"You're getting us a _babysitter?_" Shinigami asked, both incredulous and outraged.

"Yes. Don't argue. You're only here for a short time, it wouldn't do to fill a dorm and besides, you need someone other than Eibon to shoulder the responsibility of taking care of you."

"Is that some sort of orphan insult or something?" the reaper muttered. Although unhappy, Shinigami knew when to fold his cards. After all, his older self was the key to getting anywhere in this place. After a long silence, Shinigami-sama spoke again.

"So...I suppose you want to be in Kid's class."

"Oh, yes! Yes please!" Shinigami answered excitedly.

"Well, too bad. His class is full."

Hit with a wave of disappointment, Shinigami fell to the ground and began to whimper, clutching his knees to his chest.

"Oh, get up! I was just kidding. His class _is_ pretty big, though." This last sentence was lost to Shinigami as soon as he heard 'just kidding'. He hopped to his feet and grinned widely. "YAY!"

"Now, look here. Don't get too attached to him, you hear? Kid actually has friends in this time, and I'm sure he won't want his soon-to-be father clinging to him like a lost puppy."

Shinigami folded his arms and pouted. "Don't worry about it! Unlike you, _I_ am actually cool."

"By the way, what's your excuse for looking like a carbon copy of him?"

"I'm his cousin, Uncle Shinigami-sama."

Before Shinigami-sama could comment on how creative it was, the door opened. Before long, they could see the outlines of three adult men walking towards them. As they appeared, Shinigami recognized Spirit and Sid, accompanied by a scarred man in a lab coat. He let a cigarette hang off of his lips, and his head...well, it had a bolt going through it. All in all, he looked like a laboratory experiment gone horribly wrong.

"Ah, Spirit-kun, Sid-kun, Stein-kun! Thanks for coming! Good to see that you could make it~"

"What could possibly be so important that you interrupted my lesson for?" the scarred man, Stein, replied shortly.

"I'll have none of your attitude, Stein-kun," Shinigami-sama half-joked. "And how many times do I have to tell you that smoking isn't allowed on Shibusen grounds? If you want to kill yourself, do it as home please."

Stein grit his teeth on his cigarette but did nothing more.

"So what did you need us for, Shinigami-sama?" Spirit continued, feeling the tension between the two.

"Ah, yes. This is my nephew, Damien, and his partner, Akito. They came here from the Shibusen branch in Japan. Since they'll only be staying here for a short time, I want you to house and supervise them."

Shinigami wiggled around, silently hoping that Stein wouldn't speak up. He didn't really like the looks of him. If he had to pick one, he wanted Spirit. He prayed that Spirit would take them.

His prayers were answered. For once.

"I'll take Damien," Spirit offered. Shinigami grinned and nearly erupted with happiness. A long silence passed before Shinigami-sama cut it with a small cough.

"Stein, why don't you take Akito? You two have a lot in common."

At this, Shinigami turned to his older self, alarmed. "Wait, we're going to be split up?"

"Yes. You could use it."

"But," Shinigami muttered, anxiously lowering his gaze, "we've never been split up before." He wasn't sure that he liked the idea of being separated from Eibon. What if something bad happened to him? I mean, Eibon was a good fighter but not _that_ good. He needed Shinigami to protect him. And staying with the guy who looks like he's missing a few bolts (minus the one in his head)? No, Shinigami didn't like that idea.

"We _can't_ be split up!" Shinigami stomped his foot in refusal. "We've been together _forever!_"

"Which is why you can stand to be separated for a while! Don't fight me or I won't enroll you!" Shinigami-sama snapped in rebuttal. His younger self grit his teeth, his eyes wide and angry, but said nothing more. Shinigami-sama sighed and turned to the three adults again.

"Now that we've got that settled, Spirit will take Damien and Stein will take Akito. Deal?" Spirit and Stein nodded, but much less enthusiastically by the latter. "Good. School's almost over, so you can take them and get them settled in~" He nodded, a sign of dismissal clear in his tone.

"Yes, Shinigami-sama." Spirit waved Shinigami over. The boy stepped towards him, but turned to Eibon instead. "I..." he stuttered, not really knowing what to say.

"Don't worry, okay?" Eibon reassured him, smiling. "Like he said, this will be good for us. We can still see each other in the daytime."

"You'll be okay?"

"I'll be fine. Promise."

Suddenly, Shinigami stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his best friend, clutching tightly as if he were leaving forever. Caught by surprise at first, Eibon soon smiled at Shinigami's worry and returned the hug, though not as tight. Spirit smiled at the embrace, while Stein looked unimpressed and Shinigami-sama looked...well, like he always did.

Eibon pried his friend's arms off and stepped back. "Really! I'll be fine," he repeated, seeing the anxious worrying in those golden eyes.

"Okay, but if that guy makes you into a science experiment, I'll kick his ass!"

The chestnut-haired boy laughed. "Okay."

With that, Eibon and Shinigami walked away from each other. Eibon smiled at his friend reassuringly as the reaper stepped away hesitantly, unsure. Eibon then turned to his own guardian, the smile melting away. He didn't look very friendly. In fact, he looked rather displeased about his new charge.

"Th-Thank you for taking me in, sir!" Eibon stuttered, bowing respectfully. "I promise, I won't be a bother!"

"Sure," Stein replied, lacking any sort of interest in his voice, "Now follow me." Eibon obeyed, but with one last glance at Shinigami. As he suspected, the reaper was still watching him with concern. He flashed the other a smile before rushing to catch up with the scarred man.

Shinigami watched them until the door shut. Although he kept telling himself Eibon would be fine, he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in his stomach. Finally, he turned to Spirit, who smiled.

"You really care about him, don't you?" Shinigami suddenly realized that Spirit had been waiting along with him. Flustered by guilt, he shrugged stiffly. "Y-Yeah, he's my partner, of course."

Spirit smiled at him once more and began to walk away. Shinigami followed him out the door and into the hallway, continuing until he glanced into a nearby classroom. Catching the sight of striped black hair, he stopped and peeked inside the room discreetly.

Having no teacher to tell them what to do, the students had taken to lounging around. Some were playing games, others were just talking. Kid himself was having a conversation with a girl with pigtails, while the blue-haired boy from earlier was playing rock, paper, scissors with Soul. The latter looked very bored as he chose paper, the ninja choosing rock. Liz was brushing her hair with Patty playing with an action figure on the desk. Shinigami smiled as he observed them.

"Are you going to go in?" Spirit asked. "You can, if you want to," he added as Shinigami turned to him.

"Nah, I want to make a big entrance tomorrow."

Spirit nodded and continued, Shinigami trailing behind.

* * *

><p>"Well, this is it," Spirit introduced, motioning around. The entryway of the house led to the kitchen, with the sitting room on the right. To the left of the kitchen was a hallway with a door and a staircase. In the entryway, two doors flanked the long hallway. Spirit pointed to them. "The left one is the closet and the right one is the garage. The bedrooms are upstairs. You can sleep in the guest bedroom, unless you want Maka's room of course..."<p>

"Maka?" Shinigami frowned at the girly name. "I don't want a girl's bedroom!"

Spirit laughed. "Good, I'm not letting you have my precious daughter's!"

Shinigami grinned, then ran up the stairs to check out his new room. He opened one of the doors to see pink- then quickly closed it. He opened another door to see pictures of naked women on the walls- quickly closing it as well. He tried the third door and walked into a room with a wide queen-sized bed and white walls. There was a nightstand beside the bed and a bookcase pushed against the wall, but Shinigami was focused on the sunlight filtering through the window and lighting up the soft white sheets. Suddenly he ran headfirst and leapt for the bed, flopping on the padded mattress. He giggled as he felt the soft material in his fingers, soothing his weary body. He turned over, resting his head against the pillow. Everything was so soft. Everything was comfortable. Everything was safe.

His giggle dissolved into loud laughter.

He had a bed!

"I see you like it," Spirit's teasing voice floated in, disturbing Shinigami's pure glee. The boy flew upwards, grinning at the redhead. "Yeah. It's cool."

"Good to hear. You want something to eat?"

Nodding, Shinigami left the room to follow Spirit to the kitchen. After the scythe quizzed him on what he wanted to eat, Shinigami settled for a peach. He bit into it greedily as Spirit sat down next to him at the round black table.

"Are you nervous about your first day of school?"

Shinigami chewed his bite, peach juice running down the corners of his mouth. He wiped it away with his sleeve before answering, "Nah, not really."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Why?"

"Well...I don't know. It's a new experience, you know. New people, new places."

"I already know Kid. So I'm not really worried. Besides, I love new experiences!" He grinned, pumping a fist into the air.

Spirit laughed. "Well, I hope you have fun."

"Yeah, thanks." Shinigami bit into his peach again. _This Spirit guy's really nice. I wonder if he's my friend in the future. He should be. I like him. Maybe I'll ask._

"Hey, Spirit?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you and Uncle Shinigami friends?"

"Friends?" Spirit scratched the head of his head, smiling awkwardly. "Well...I guess you can say that. I'm the only one who ever spends time with him, anyway. We talk about a lot of things, too. So...I guess you can say we're friends. Why do you ask?"

Shinigami smiled halfheartedly, wishing that he could tell him his secret. He guessed that this wouldn't be the first time that it itched and burned in him. "Just wondering." He bit into his nearly finished peach. "It looks like he's not an easy guy to get along with."

"He can be a little weird, yeah. It's cute, but frustrating at times. He's really not so bad once you get to know him."

The reaper boy stared at his peach core, quiet for once.

* * *

><p>That night, Shinigami snuck out.<p>

It took him quite a while to find Stein's laboratory, but when he saw it, he immediately knew that was where Eibon was staying. Mostly because the building had stitches on it. He tip-toed around the building, looking for a window on a tower, as if Eibon was a storybook princess. Eventually he settled for a window on a high ledge. He stepped back a few feet before running headfirst for the wall, leaping off the ground and onto the dully colored bricks. He kept going, running straight up the wall without stopping. When he reached the ledge, he reached for it and just barely managed to grasp it with his fingers. Using his upper body strength, he pulled himself up and looked through the window to find Eibon sleeping soundly on a (stitched up) bed.

He rapped on the window impatiently, stirring the weapon. Eibon rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and glanced over to the window. He jumped back in shock when he found Shinigami staring through his window, covering his eyes with one hand. Winded, Eibon picked himself back up and shuffled over to the window, opening it to let his friend in.

"Thanks, partner!" Shinigami whispered. "So? Did that guy stitch you too?"

"No, no, nothing like that!" Eibon whispered back fiercely. "He's not the friendliest man in the world, but he's not mean either!"

"Okay, sorry," Shinigami apologized, finding Eibon's protectiveness a little strange. "But hey, tomorrow's our first day of school!"

"Yes, it's exciting. But you have to be on your best behavior! Your older self doesn't seem to like you very much."

"Yeah, I wonder why," the other mused, hopping up on the window ledge. Eibon joined him. "I mean, what's not to like about me?"

The scythe giggled. "I suppose."

Silence stretched between them.

"Are you nervous?"

"No."

"Liar."

Shinigami looked away. "Why would I be? It'll be fun. We'll meet lots of new people and learn new things. It'll be okay."

Eibon stared at his friend's turned face for a long moment before folding his knees to his chest.

"I trust you."

* * *

><p><strong>Shinigami:<strong> Spirit! I'm hungry!

**Spirit:** Do you want a sandwich?

**Shinigami:** Yeah!

**Spirit:** What do you want on it?

**Shinigami:** Um...peanut butter! No, jelly! No, no, turkey! Wait, what was that one? Salami! No, ham! Oh, they're all so good!

**Spirit:** Make up your mind already!

**Shinigami:** Okay! I'll have a sandwich with two layers of turkey, three of salami, one of ham, and a thin covering of peanut butter and jelly on each side.

**Spirit: **WHAT?

**Shinigami:** On the next chapter of a _A Leap Through Time,_ The First Day of School! There's a Big Problem With Shinigami and Eibon's Soul Resonance?

**Spirit:** What a gross sandwich...

**Shinigami:** Oh, and don't forget the tomato!

* * *

><p>AN: Holy crap sorry about the wait you guys. Writing _Leap_ chapters seriously tuckers me out. XD

As you can see, from now on I'll distinguish older!Shinigami from younger!Shinigami by the -sama honorific. I played with the idea of addressing him as Lord Death but the response I got from the last time I asked that question said I should stick with the Japanese sub style to my writing. XD

For all those wondering why Shinigami didn't just pound Black Star into the ground in the last chapter, it's because by the end of the anime (which is what 'verse this fanfic takes place in) Black Star has become rather powerful. [In the manga too, Kid says that he needs to work harder to keep up with Black Star.] Plus Shinigami hasn't learned how to hone his shinigami powers yet, so right now he's only slightly stronger than Kid. Thus making them (Black Star and Shinigami) equal in power, and the perfect sparring rivals.

Also I hate Eibon's name. :| I mean, Akito. I just...I dunno. They're supposed to be from Japan but I don't know if Akito is a normal or common name, and it doesn't quite fit with Damien. I don't know, maybe it's just me. What do you guys think?


	4. The First Day of School!

"HEY! EIBON!"

Stirred from slumber, the young scientist blinked blearily. Rubbing his bright blue eyes, he rose from his bed and shuffled towards the window in his makeshift pajamas (really just a bunch of gray fabric stitched together, since he had none of his own) to see what had made that awful noise. He approached the windowsill and rubbed the last bit of sleep out of his eyes before opening them. They widened slightly as he saw an intruder on the ground outside, waving to him.

"It's our first day of school today!" Shinigami yelled, waving his arm like a palm tree in a hurricane. "Come on, we're going to be late!"

"You're too early," Eibon groaned. He paused for a moment before yelling out the window so that the loud-mouthed, selective hearing, currently laughing reaper could hear him. "_AND DON'T JUST YELL MY NAME LIKE THAT! DOES 'IN COGNITO' MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?_"

* * *

><p>Now dressed and outside, Eibon huffed and placed his hands on his hips indignantly. "Your older self was right! You're going to get us caught!"<p>

"Relax, Ei, I'm nearly eighty percent sure no one heard us," Shinigami replied offhandedly, waving him off. "Now come on, let's go already! Shibusen is on the other side of town!"

Knowing this was a lost cause, Eibon sighed and followed Shinigami's enthusiastic march. After a few moment of silence, Shinigami fell back into a calm pace and grinned at Eibon.

"I can't believe it. We're actually going to school."

Eibon nodded, smiling. "Yeah. Although...it seems a lot different than school back home. It looks like it's a lot more common for children like you and me to go to school, instead of the wealthy."

"No way!" Shinigami leaned in and blinked curiously. "Ah, but Kid is wealthy...and he still goes to school, right?"

"That's true." Eibon smiled, lowering his gaze. "Still, I think we still have a lot more to learn about this time. We have to make sure that normal stuff in this time doesn't freak us out."

"Like when people turn lights on?"

"Yeah! Did you...?"

"Yeah, it scared me so much! I thought it was magic at first." Shinigami laughed. "I must've jumped five feet in the air! Spirit looked at me funny, but I think he just shrugged it off. He's pretty gullible."

The brunette sighed in relief. It was a good sign that Shinigami was stuck with someone as stupid and easy to fool as he was. Stein was most definitely a lot smarter than Spirit. It was lucky that he had his back turned when he flipped the switch, otherwise he might have gotten suspicious by Eibon's reaction. Curious by the contraption, Eibon had disassembled it in the dead of night and made detailed notes in his book about how it worked, reassembling it before Stein awoke. He planned to do the same with other pieces of equipment he didn't quite understand.

"Ah, but," Shinigami continued, "Shibusen is lit by candles, right? It won't be so bad there."

"Ah, yes," Eibon replied, forgetting that the school was lined by rows of continuously lit candles...not to mention the building itself seem to be stabbed with four large (symmetrical) candlesticks. He figured the same sort of 'shinigami magic' that never let his book run out of pages was the same that kept the candles lit. He didn't know what it was called, only that Shinigami was particularly skilled in it (and hated when it was referred to as 'magic'). "I have to say, I'm a bit nervous."

"Why?" Shinigami asked, his tone with a bit of arrogance, "it'll be fun! Plus, Kid is there! You're being ridiculous!"

"You were nervous last night," Eibon grumbled irately, though he was fairly certain Shinigami couldn't (or wouldn't) hear him.

"Besides," the young reaper interrupted, "we'll meet a lot of new people!"

* * *

><p>"I didn't know <em>you'd<em> be the first person I meet," Shinigami grumbled, his eyebrow twitching. He had successfully climbed the tower of stairs only to find the same arrogant boy from yesterday.

Black Star jabbed a finger at Shinigami's chest, leaning so that their faces were almost touching. "Look buddy. I already taught you a lesson yesterday, and I don't like beating up the same guy twice. Don't be a bigger star than me, got it?" he growled in warning.

Instead of answering, Shinigami's yellow eyes slid to his anxious partner. "What do you think, Akito? Should I make a grand entrance of my own or let everyone discover my greatness by themselves?"

"Please don't sink to his level," Eibon whimpered, hopeless tears flooding his cheeks.

Shinigami blinked before meeting Black Star's gaze once again. "You're right. I don't want to come off as an ass like this guy."

At this, Black Star flew into a rage, gripping Shinigami's collar threateningly and lifting him up. Shinigami's legs dangled, inches from the ground. "Why you-"

"Hey! Cut it out." Before they could get into another fight, Soul and the pigtailed girl from yesterday walked towards them. Soul, the one who had stopped the inevitable brawl, had his hands in his jacket pockets, while the girl was smiling with her hands clasped behind her back. The girl looked friendly enough, her emerald eyes sparkling. "Shinigami-sama already suspended you from missions for a week. You don't want to get him really angry, do you?"

"Yeah," Shinigami parroted, his golden eyes impassive as they stared at Black Star unblinkingly. "You don't want him angry."

Black Star's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he lowered the reaper boy to the ground. As soon as he was safe, the blonde pigtailed girl came up to him.

"Hey, I don't think I've seen you around before," the girl began, smiling at him and extending a hand. "I'm Maka Albarn, Demon Scythe Meister. And this lazy guy over here is my partner, Soul Eater." In the background, Soul protested, "We've already met before!"

Shinigami smiled slightly, not quite as extreme his full grin. He took her hand. "Damien Clear. I'm also a scythe meister." He turned to Eibon and nodded. "And this is my partner, Akito Toshihiro." Eibon smiled at her.

"It's nice to meet you both," Maka greeted, nodding. She glanced at Shinigami. "Say, you look kind of familiar..."

"Ah, I'm Death the Kid's cousin," Shinigami quickly explained, a hand on the back of his head in embarrassment. "That's why we look alike. Speaking of which, have you seen him?"

"Hm, no. Maybe he's late again..." At the same time, a cry echoed from the building. "Black Star? Black Star!" A girl with a long black ponytail emerged from the entrance, running towards the group. As she ran, her breasts jiggled and bounced very obviously with her. By the time she approached, both Shinigami and Eibon's faces were bright red. She glanced from Black Star to Shinigami.

"Is this the boy you got into a fight with yesterday?"

"Yep!" At this, the girl immediately bowed respectfully to the two boys.

"I'm so sorry!" Shinigami and Eibon put up their hands, trying to calm the distressed girl. Shinigami spoke to her first, laughing nervously.

"It's no big deal! No problem!" Once the girl had straightened and look at him curiously, he grinned. "Damien Clear. I'm Death the Kid's cousin."

"Akito Toshihiro," Eibon piped in.

The girl smiled. "I'm Tsubaki Nakatsukasa."

"Ah, are you...Kid's friends?" Shinigami asked, glancing around. Eibon could have slapped himself, and almost did. Upon meeting a few people, Shinigami automatically thinks they're his son's friends. It was typical behavior for a father, but Shinigami was fifteen.

Eibon actually did slap himself at the nods his partner got. Why was Shinigami always the lucky one?

"Yeah, he's our friend," Maka told him. She turned around, motioning for them to follow her. "Come on, let's go find him! I'll bet he's excited to see you."

Shinigami, Eibon, and Soul followed her, leaving Tsubaki to lecture Black Star. Once the four entered, they passed countless students lining the halls. Most of them were lounging about with friends or minding their own business, loitering around before class began. Shinigami and Eibon scrutinized them carefully, trying to imitate their carefree stance. As Eibon tried to awkwardly look like the others, Shinigami leaned over to him. He had the perfect posture for these students- slumped over, hands in pockets, grinning from ear to ear.

"It's okay, just look cool," he suggested in a whisper before dashing off to look like he wasn't in a hurry.

Eibon just stared after him. "How can I? I don't even know what that means!" he exclaimed, gathering attention from nearby students. He glanced around and quickly caught up with his partner, mentally making a note not to shout at Shinigami in public.

The four arrived at a doorway. Shinigami stopped exactly when Maka stopped, causing Eibon to bump into him. The weapon glanced around his meister's body to see that Maka had extended her hand towards the doorway. "Well, this is our classroom. I think Kid is in there already," she told the eager reaper.

Shinigami smiled and thanked her before positioning himself next to the doorframe, peering into the classroom like a spy. His fingers brushed the edges of the wooden frame as he looked in. Maka glanced at Eibon upon witnessing this strange behavior, and Eibon only offered a hopeless expression and shrug in response.

Suddenly, Shinigami gasped. There he was- his very own son, sitting calmly in his seat, flanked by the Thompson twins. As far as Shinigami could see, they were the only ones in the room. He chuckled darkly, sinking into the hallway...

...only to rise behind Kid, his hands extended. He quickly wrapped his arms around Kid's neck in a mix between a hug and a stranglehold. "BOO!" he yelled, laughing. Kid struggled against his hold, protesting, before he got a good look at his attacker. His golden eyes went wide as Shinigami grinned at him. "Hey."

Kid swiftly turned the hold around so that he was the one holding Shinigami by the collar. The reaper was a little off put about how many had held him by the collar since he got here, but quickly swallowed his protests when he saw the angry look on Kid's face.

"Kid?" he asked nervously.

"What are you _doing_ here?" Kid demanded, making Shinigami flinch.

"I only wanted to see my little boy...it's been a really long time, you know."

"I just saw you a couple months ago!"

"Yeah, well, it's been three years in my time. Look, I'm the same age as you!"

"You don't get it! You...you can't be here."

"Why not?" Shinigami frowned.

"Because!" Kid snapped, though he didn't have an excuse ready. All he knew was, instinctively, it was bad for his father's younger self to be here in the present. It was unnatural...unbalanced. It set him on edge, much like what asymmetry did. "Because...don't you have...don't you have things to do in your time?"

"Ah, I'll only be here for a little bit. Then me and Eibon will go home at the same time we left, so it's like we never did. Oh, by the way, the older me says I can attend Shibusen! So I'll be going to school with you for a couple weeks, or until he kicks me out." At this, Kid released his hold. Shinigami brushed himself off. "Oh, and thanks for telling me that I'll grow up to be a dancing blob." When Kid didn't respond, Shinigami leaned down anxiously. "Are...are you mad?"

Kid glanced up, this time his eyes more hopelessly confused than angry. "No, I'm not mad," he sighed, as if he was telling a child. Her father certainly acted like one. "I just...don't know what to think, that's all."

"I'm glad you're not mad," Shinigami replied, smiling softly as he was genuinely relieved. "Ah, and don't worry, I won't bother you at all. In fact I already made some new friends!"

"Friends? What kind of friends?" Kid asked suspiciously, worried that his (up to this point) isolated father's naive definition of 'friends' may not be exactly correct.

"Well, I don't know. Friendly friends? I've met Soul, and Maka...and Tsubaki, and that annoying guy," the reaper listed off, counting on his fingers.

"Black Star," Kid finished for him. Then he realized something. "Wait, were _you_ the one who got into a fight with him yesterday?" He'd heard the news about Black Star beating up a new student, but it looked like everyone exaggerated on that one because Shinigami looked perfectly fine as he nodded.

It was then that the twins had decided it safe to come over and greet the new student. Patty immediately enveloped Shinigami in a dangerously tight hug, yelling, "Yay, the little Shinigami-sama is here!" After they parted, Liz stared at Shinigami intensely. Shinigami matched her stare with a lot less vigor and a lot more intrigue.

"You got taller," she finally said, making him grin. Indeed, the last time she had met him, he was only twelve- coming up to her breasts, at best. Now he was fifteen, and reached her shoulders. He was even taller than Kid, if only by an inch or two. It sounded like puberty had been good to him, as his voice had lowered and become more scratchy. It still held the same high-pitched lilt to it that had become so familiar, however.

"Don't forget me!" Eibon protested softly, running over to them. He had gotten taller too, only a few inches shorter than his partner. His voice had also lowered, but not lower than Shinigami's. He smiled at the trio before Patty gave him the same bone-crushing hug. Liz laughed upon seeing the bewildered but grateful expression of the scythe in response.

"Wow, look at you two! I'll bet you can get any girl at school with those looks," she complimented. Eibon looked sheepish, but Shinigami only grinned like he knew it all along.

"Ah! That reminds me," Kid began, turning to his father. "Have you told anyone?"

"What? Of course not! I'm Damien Clear, your cousin from Japan, remember?" Shinigami answered smoothly.

Kid smirked. "Impressive. And Eibon?"

"My weapon partner, Akito Toshihiro." Shinigami paused. "I will be glad when I can stop introducing myself."

The five laughed before noticing that the classroom was slowly beginning to fill with students. "Class is starting," Kid announced. "Let's go sit down."

They sat down, five of them, in a row. Eibon was on the end, next to Shinigami, who had Kid on his right. To the left of Kid sat the Thompson twins, first Liz then Patty. Shinigami recognized Soul and Maka coming in, Soul taking a seat beside Patty and Maka taking the seat next to him. Shinigami twisted his face, trying to imitate the carefree scowl Soul had. Black Star, still half-dead, shuffled in with Tsubaki behind him. They took seats on the row in front of them. Everyone was seating and talking for a good ten minutes before the teacher decided to roll in on a chair.

"Hello class," Stein began. Eibon blinked. Stein was also their teacher? "If you haven't heard already, we have two new students. And yes, the one that looks like Kid was the one who Black Star supposedly 'beat up' yesterday. As you can see, he is perfectly fine." Stein pointed to Shinigami and Eibon, who both jumped. Shinigami turned to wave at the class, only to get smacked in the back of the head by something hard and sharp. He rubbed his neck to see that the flying projectile was actually a book- one that Eibon had in his hands and without the injuries that Shinigami had.

"That's your textbook. Since you came here late, you need to get caught up. We're on chapter fourteen. And we will not be slowing the class for you." The two nodded, though Shinigami looked nervous. "Good. Now...why don't we have a demonstration of your abilities? Since you managed to escape a fight with the most powerful student in the school without so much of a scratch, I think we're all eager to see what you can do." The way Stein's glasses glinted and his growing smirk as he said this made Shinigami uneasy. His eyes widened a fraction as he grit his teeth in suspicion. Finally, he stood and walked down the center aisle to the front of the classroom.

Eibon followed him worriedly, trying to whisper to him every so often without gathering the attention of other students. Shinigami finally stopped and turned to him.

"He wanted to see what we can do, right?" he drawled. "Let's show him, then." Eibon, not comfortable with this plan in the slightest, only quietly followed his meister and hoped that he knew what he was doing.

Shinigami stood in the middle of the floor, facing Eibon. He narrowed his eyes, and when he spoke, his tone was coldly serious. "Akito, scythe form."

Eibon nodded hesitantly and leapt into the air, glowing a bright blue color and shifting and twisting his body into a scythe shape. Shinigami stepped forward to catch the still glowing handle and spin it around, taking a battle stance. He held his breath as Eibon's scythe form stabilized, materializing in his hands. Shinigami felt Eibon's wavelength close to him, and he reached out with his own to match it. For a long, agonizing second, nothing happened.

Then Eibon began to scream.

The screech threw Shinigami off, and he stepped back, eyes wide. All of a sudden, he felt a searing pain in his soul. His wavelength sparked and sizzled inside of him before finally breaking free of its prison. Shinigami screamed as sparks of his soul wavelength shot from him, electrocuting both his insides and the weapon in his hands. The pain was agonizing, as if someone had stabbed him repeatedly with a bolt of lightning. Shocks ran through his bones, numbing his entire body.

Suddenly, Eibon's cries cut through his pain, opening his hearing to his partner's pain. Overwhelmed with his first intuition to protect his partner at all costs, he wretched the scythe away from him. As soon as they parted, Shinigami felt the electric shocks immediately grow lighter and lighter before they stopped in a matter of seconds. The scythe clattered to the floor, glowing bright blue as it shifted back into the hazel-haired boy. Eibon clutched his chest, heaving heavily as he tried to regain his breath.

Shinigami heaved just as heavily, his eyes wide. He could barely breathe; he could barely remember _how_ to breathe. It was as if everything but his natural instincts suddenly shut down. He couldn't think through the haze of pain and shock clouding his mind. How was he breathing? How was he alive? How could he hold his weapon?

_Clap, clap, clap._

The reaper jerked his head towards the sound of clapping. Stein sat backwards on his chair, a smirk through his cigarette as he continued to strike his hands together.

"Congratulations. You've already failed on your first day. How are you going to create a Death Scythe if you can't even resonate with your weapon?"

"Say that again _you spineless-_" Shinigami growled, a darker tone tearing through his throat. He was cut off by an hand seizing his arm.

"Damien," Eibon warned softly. Shinigami turned to his partner with the same strong glare, his eyes dark with wrath. It was the most hateful look that Eibon had ever gotten from the often moody boy. Knowing the glare wasn't meant for him but for Stein, he held his ground and held his steady gaze until Shinigami finally turned away in defeat. He tore his arm from Eibon's grip and shoved his hands in his pockets, turning on his heel and storming out of the classroom.

Eibon watched him exit, and, with a meaningful glance towards Stein, he followed his partner out without once looking back.

* * *

><p>The young scientist followed his meister to an area just outside of the restrooms, near the water fountain. Shinigami leaned back against the wall with his neck craned towards the ceiling, his lips pulled back in a lazy scowl. Eibon stood next to his partner, leaning against the wall and gazing towards the ceiling with an ambivalent smile on his face. They stood in silence for a moment before Shinigami finally broke it with a huff.<p>

"School sucks."

Eibon chuckled softly at Shinigami's dramatics. When one small part of his day went wrong, the whole experience was ruined.

"Don't say that. I think you like school."

Shinigami glanced at Eibon through the corner of his eye before turning his gaze to the ceiling once more. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, deep down. Don't be upset about what happened. I bet that sort of thing happens all the time around here." Eibon turned his neck towards Shinigami. "Why don't we go ask your older self about it?"

"Who says I'm going to stay?"

Eibon shifted his neck so that he was looking straight forward, right at the deserted restrooms and water fountain. "I think you'll stay. Even if you think Professor Stein is a jerk, or that learning is stupid, I think you'll stay." Eibon glanced down at his feet, smiling. "Because you love this school."

Shinigami maintained his scowl for a moment, his expression hidden behind his striped bangs. Then he pushed himself from the wall and began to stalk down the hall towards the end of the school. Eibon followed him merrily, clasping his hands behind his back.

* * *

><p>"Hey, old man."<p>

Shinigami stared at the older reaper with a bored expression, his lips curled, his posture slouched, and his hands in his pockets. Across from him stood himself in all his spiky, bouncy glory. His mask seem to stare into Shinigami's own eyes, as if trying to commit murder via staring contest. Around them, clouds crawled lazily along the dusty floor of the Death Room.

"Well, I saw your performance today," Shinigami-sama began, his choice of words rather disheartening despite his uplifting tone. "I think I almost cried at how sad it was."

"Save it," Shinigami snapped. "Tell me why I can't resonate with Eibon anymore!"

"You haven't figured it out yet?" Shinigami-sama asked, cocking his head. His eye sockets lowered, giving him a rather unimpressed expression. Shinigami gave him a glare in response, prompting the older reaper to continue. "You're too powerful for him. All that strength and power you gain when you became the Reaper greatly surpassed your already stretched gap in power. Eibon literally can no longer keep up with you."

The two boys stared in shock. Shinigami stepped forward, an incredulous look on his face. "Wait, are you for real?" he asked desperately, hoping that his older self was kidding. How can he possibly be so strong that Eibon couldn't resonate with him? He's always been strong, and Eibon's always been able to keep up. It frightened him to think that they might not able to resonate again. The thought of it drove him to blind, frustrated fury. "You're joking, right?" he yelled.

Eibon's gaze fell to his feet, a heavy weight settling on his shoulders. Though he remained silent, his smile disappeared.

"I'm not joking. You saw it with your own eyes. Back there in the classroom, you nearly consumed Eibon's wavelength with your own. As a result, his soul rejected yours and your wavelength recoiled and struck you both." Both boys flinched at the pain of Shinigami's powerful wavelength coursing through them. Shinigami winced as a wave of guilt hit him. He had hurt his own partner trying to force a stable resonance. Why did he have to be so dumb as to accept Stein's proposal? Why was Eibon always the one hurt because of his stupidity? He grit his teeth and cast his gaze downward in shame.

"It's what happens when you try to resonate with a undeveloped weapon. That's what the Death Scythes are for," Shinigami-sama continued. Shinigami slowly raised his gaze in surprise.

"Do you mean...I can only wield Death Scythes?"

"Indeed. If you want to wield a weapon, they'll need to undergo the transformation before you can get anything close to a resonance with them. Otherwise your sheer power will overwhelm them."

Eibon gazed forlornly at his partner, knowing what was coming next. _"Sorry, Eibon,"_ he'd say. _"But I need a Death Scythe to protect the world."_ And then he would leave with someone else. Eibon convinced himself of this fact, but he didn't really know what he was going to do afterwards. Shinigami had become his life. He spent all of his time and energy trying to take care of him. If he didn't have that, what would he do? Invent? He didn't fancy the idea of inventing without anyone to invent for. Would he just float along lifelessly until a kishin or witch defeated him? God knows he would only last so long without Shinigami's protection. Or maybe he would just wither away, completely useless to the world. Would anyone miss him? Would Shinigami?

His partner slowly turned around, a look of fierce determination etched on his features. His golden eyes seemed to radiate possibility as Eibon stared at his reflection in them.

"In that case, Eibon," he growled lowly. "I'll make you a Death Scythe."

* * *

><p><strong>Eibon:<strong> Wow, we're really far behind!

**Shinigami: **Huh? How can we be? What's that book know that I don't?

**Eibon:** Well, for starters, what's a rejection reaction?

**Shinigami:** It's that thing we did today, isn't it?

**Eibon:** Okay then, what's an Autonomous Weapon?

**Shinigami:** Uh...it's, uh...

**Eibon: **What'sa Dark Weapon? A Bakeneko? A Monster? One-, two-, and three-star meisters?

**Shinigami: **I DON'T KNOW ALL THESE DAMN TERMS, OKAY?

**Eibon:** On the next chapter of _A Leap Through Time_, Fight! The New Kids' First Mission?

**Shinigami:** I'm a thousand-star meister!

* * *

><p>AN: Again, sorry for late update. But hey look how meaty this chapter is, yeah? Sorry for Black Star being so territorial OOC...I think his motivation is that he knows that Shinigami is better so he has to prove himself, or something. I know, wow, I can't even write in character. Also I totally support oldersister!Liz. Shinigami's (and Eibon's) interactions with the Thompson sisters are so adorable.


	5. Fight!

It was a bright, sunny day. The sun cackled as it warmed the oddly cheery citizens of Death City, out doing errands or just relaxing with friends at the local cafes. Everyone felt calm, unknowingly protected from harm by the covering of Death's huge soul. They felt none of the madness or insanity associated with the witches or kishin. They were just ordinary people living ordinary lives.

At Shibusen, school continued as normal in the not-so-normal school. The gossip about the two new students had already faded away, replaced with talk of tests and unfair teachers. Unlike the town around them, the students at this school indeed felt the effects of madness. They were very familiar with witches and kishin. After all, it was their duty to eliminate them. A very grave job certainly, yet most students continued living their lives as if they were normal. Ordinary people doing ordinary things like shopping for groceries or slicing a blade through the skin of a tainted soul.

In one of the school's many classrooms, the founder himself and his brilliant weapon partner sat in the desks as students, pouring over a piece of paper. The weapon pointed his pencil at a few numbers, picking them out and explaining them to his rather confused and very bored meister, who quite frankly could care less about arithmetic.

"Look, Shinigami-sama told us we had seventy-three kishin egg souls altogether," Eibon recounted for him, shivering as he clearly remembered the feeling of vomiting as the reaper pulled the souls from him, "So if we take that from the hundred we're supposed to have, that leaves thirty-seven souls. Thirty-six kishin egg souls and one witch soul." Eibon smiled at himself as he saw how the numbers fell into place. It pleased him to come to such a correct and neat conclusion. Maybe he was finally taking a page from Shinigami's everything-better-be-neat-and-tidy book.

Speaking of Shinigami, the boy's scowl shivered as he growled lowly and spun to face Eibon. He took the yellow scarf into his hands and shook the poor scientist. "_EIGHT!_ MAKE IT THIRTY-_EIGHT!_" he yelled. Eibon could do nothing but moan as the world began to spin faster and faster.

Then again, maybe he wasn't taking a page from Shinigami's book after all.

"Hey!" Shinigami froze, leaving Eibon to bang his head one more time before coming to a stop. The reaper's head snapped to the direction of the noise, his ears pricked like a cat who heard a branch snap. He suddenly released Eibon and sat diligently at his desk, his hands folded. The scythe only slunk back into his seat like a long roll of Jell-O.

Clean and pristine as ever, Death the Kid walked over to the two with his hands clasped firmly behind his back. Liz and Patty flanked him from behind, as usual. His emotionless golden eyes swept from his nervously grinning father to the motionless moaning mess of a weapon next to him. He quirked an eyebrow in question.

Shinigami smiled at him in response.

Kid shook his head. "Never mind, I don't want to know. Anyway, Damien," he addressed, using his father's alias though the classroom only had a few chattering students, "I wanted to know if you wished to complete an extra-curricular assignment with us."

Shinigami blinked, his large golden eyes shining with curiosity. "Extra-curricular assignment...?"

"A mission," Eibon clarified in a groan, propping his elbows on the desk for support as he lowered his head.

At this, Shinigami's eyes grew even wider and his smile turned upward. Much to Kid's dismay, he catapulted off the desk and enveloped his son in a tight hug, rubbing their cheeks together.

"Oh, you really mean it? A mission with my Kiddo?" he crooned. Kid groaned and protested, trying fruitlessly to push his overenthusiastic father away. A few moments passed before Shinigami's eyes shot open. He quickly stepped back, letting go of Kid. The younger fell the ground ungracefully, no longer having the support of the teen to keep him upright.

"I take it that's a yes, then," Kid groaned from the floor. He glanced up to see his father's hand extended. Taking it, the younger reaper stood on his feet with the help of a very strong arm. He brushed tiny particles of dirt and dust from his jacket before nodding to Shinigami. "Let's go and have a mission approved before class, then." Shinigami nodded curiously in response, dutifully following his son out the door and through the halls. Eibon, Liz, and Patty followed the two reapers.

As Shinigami walked through the halls beside an emotionless Kid, he gazed at the students he saw decorating the halls. It fascinated him to see how children live their lives here, in this time. He knew, of course, that these weren't normal children- just like him, they were all resolute in their mission to bring peace. In his time, there was only him and Eibon working to save the world. Now, he had an entire school- no, an entire army! The thought made him smile. He didn't feel alone anymore.

Suddenly a large shape blocked his path. He rammed into it, the recoil making his head jerk back. Rubbing his forehead, he stepped back to get a good view of the object in front of him. Turns out, it wasn't an object- it was a person. A rather wide person glowering down at him. Shinigami craned his neck and blinked, not at all intimidated by the other boy's size.

"Hey, watch it!" the boy snarled. He scowled at Shinigami for a moment before something clicked in his head. He smirked foully. "Hey, I know who you are. You're the crap meister who can't even resonate with his weapon!" He turned to the students behind him. "Hey, everyone! Check it out! This is the crap meister from yesterday!" Everyone turned their heads towards the reaper and began to laugh and point.

"Aren't you going to do something about this?" Kid whispered to his father.

"I should do something?" Shinigami asked, unfazed by the mockery.

"They're insulting your honor," Eibon clarified.

"Oh, then I should kill them," Shinigami said, as if it were a fact.

"No!" Liz protested hurriedly. "Just fight them! Like you did with Black Star yesterday."

Shinigami paused. "Okay." He strode up to the large boy and cocked his head, watching the boy snort like a pig. He brought his hand back behind his shoulder, bending his elbow. Swiftly he snapped his hand down on the boy's head, his fingers flat.

The chop smoked and sizzled on the boy's head, and Shinigami made no move to retract his hand. The boy, frozen for a moment, now turned furiously to the reaper and held the spot where he was attacked. "What the hell was that? You Shinigami-sama or something? If you're gonna fight me, use your fricken' fists!"

At the mention of his real name, Shinigami grimaced shamefully. He almost blew his cover there. Taking the boy's advice to heart, he dashed forward and swung his fist into the boy's gut. The follow-through launched the boy through the roof, sending him flying through the sky with a cry. The other students stared at the new hole with a flabbergasted expression plastered on their faces.

Shinigami stood straight again as Kid patted him on the shoulder briefly. "Good job."

His father beamed.

* * *

><p>As it turned out, Maka had had the same thought as Kid did. She and her uncooperative partner stood at the mission board, browsing through the summaries. Kid and his group greeted them, and soon enough they struck up a conversation. Since they were talking about classes, Shinigami and Eibon drifted away to pick out a mission. Shinigami plucked one from the bulletin board and brought it back to Kid for approval.<p>

Kid eyed it. _Location: Northern Canada Objective: Eliminate Lv. 2 Kishin Egg_

It seemed like a relatively simple, easy mission- which made Kid scrutinize his father skeptically. Shinigami grinned bashfully. "Eibon made me a pick an easy one."

Of course. While it was probably overkill to send two reapers on such an easy mission, Eibon probably wanted a simple mission as an introduction. And Shinigami always listened to Eibon, no matter how badly he wanted to choose the hardest mission on the board.

"Which one are you taking?" Maka asked, peering over Kid's shoulder. "That's kind of an easy one, don't you think?"

"I'm taking Damien with me. Akito wanted to start out with an easy mission to get started," Kid explained.

"Oh! That's right!" Maka exclaimed. "Hey, Damien, how do you know how to use a weapon, but have never been on a mission before?"

Shinigami smiled lightly. "I met Akito when I was a kid. He showed me that he could change into a scythe and I learned that I could wield him. That's when Shinigami-sama told me about meisters and weapons. I've been training with Akito ever since, but we haven't actually tried to fight anything yet."

"That makes sense," Maka replied, buying the lie. Shinigami's smile twitched. The blonde continued, "I've got this one about a witch being spotted in a forest in Slovenia. Apparently she just appeared there out of thin air. The town nearby thinks she's preparing something evil in there, so they've sealed it off." She placed the mission back on the bulletin board with the word "TAKEN" stamped on it. Shinigami watched as Kid went over to an old lady with prominent plump red lips and, after some explaining, watched her stamp the mission with the same word.

"So we can go?" asked Shinigami, bouncing on his toes.

"After school," Kid reminded him. "Do you have your schedules?"

Shinigami and Eibon simultaneously searched their person. Eibon immediately pulled his out from his book. His paper was neat and free of wrinkles. Shinigami, on the other hand, dug around in his pockets for a moment before retrieving a wad of paper. He unfurled it and presented it to Kid.

"Ah, I see. You're both in my class." He gave their schedules an appraising glance before returning them to their owners. It wasn't hard to tell who's was who's. "Well, let's go. We don't want to be late."

In Soul Studies, Shinigami sat next to Kid and frequently nudged him under the desk. "Hey. Let's go on that mission now," he whispered.

"And skip class?" Kid whispered back.

"It's boring!" Unfortunately, however, the young reaper had moaned a little too loudly. His black hair was a blur as he dodged a dissection knife travelling approximately seventy miles an hour. Once the weapon struck the wall behind him, Shinigami threw his head back up, eyeing Kid once more. "Please?" Kid could only roll his eyes.

This process lathered, rinsed, and repeated throughout the day.

During Field Training, as the two crawled through underbrush: "Please please please please please-"

During P.E., as the two ran the track together: "Please please please please please-"

During lunch, as Kid walked to his usual table: "Please please please please please-" Kid's usual patience was worn thin, his eye twitching as he sat in his seat. Shinigami took the place next to him, relentless in his pursuit. In fact, he started to talk faster. "Pleasepleaseplease-"

**"NO! WE'LL GO ON THE MISSION WHEN WE GO ON IT! STOP! ASKING!"** Shinigami cracked a scared grin as he bore the full brunt of Kid's verbal frustration. Kid fell silent, still as steamed as a vegetable.

Shinigami opened his mouth, a grin on his face. "Ki-"

"Be quiet."

* * *

><p>"Hold on tight."<p>

**"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! WE'RE A MILLION FEET IN THE AIR!"**

"The mission is in Northern Canada," Kid reminded his father, who currently had a death grip around his son's middle. "How did you think we were going to get there? Walk there?" Shinigami looked like he about to either cry or puke as he stared over the edge of Beelzebub and into the snowy forests below. "Besides," Kid continued, "you can fly on your own, can't you?"

"But I've never gone that high!" Shinigami cried in despair. Now it definitely looked like he was going to bawl.

"What about me?" Eibon shouted from his scythe form. Kid had had to loop his fingers through both Liz and Patty's triggers in order to carry Eibon, as Shinigami couldn't hold him yet. "I'm not even on ground!"

"You're metal! You'll survive the fall!" Shinigami snapped irritably. "I'll die!" Patty apparently found this hilarious, because she started laughing and shouting, "Fall! Fall!" which did not do wonders to Shinigami's nerves.

"You're the one who can fly!"

"Don't worry." Kid turned his head to give his father a soft smile. "I won't let you fall."

His words, soft and reassuring, calmed the agitated reaper. Shinigami smiled back, letting all the tension melt from his body. His grip around Kid's waist dissolved into a firm but comfortable one. He buried his face into the crook of Kid's neck, still smiling.

* * *

><p><strong>"IT'S TOO COLD!"<strong>

Liz tugged her parka closer to herself. "And you two want to be DWMA students..."

This time, though, Eibon was the one complaining. Kid, Liz and Patty had brought winter clothes with them, but because Eibon and Shinigami had been travelling on their own, they only had one set of clothes. And Eibon's wasn't very warm- his bare knees, cherry red, buckled and slammed together with every passing second. Though his outfit was warmer, Shinigami, thanks to his skin, didn't feel the cold at all.

_It's not fair,_ Eibon thought bitterly, a murderous gleam in his glare. _They should all freeze to death._

Shinigami _had_ noticed Eibon's discomfort, and offered a hug to warm him up. But as soon as he touched the young scientist, Eibon's scowl only grew deeper, etching itself onto his skin. His eyes widened.

_**"You're freezing!"**_ the normally calm and peaceful boy snarled demonically, his eyes red.

Shinigami left him alone after that.

"You two are total failures..." Liz muttered to herself, a grin of disbelief cracking her cheeks.

A few minutes of walking later, Shinigami grew bored. A comfortable five feet away from the scientist foaming at the mouth, he raised a question.

"Hey, Kid, where-"

Kid stopped. "Here."

"Eh?" Shinigami glanced around. It didn't look any different than the snowy, tree-scattered terrain they had been walking for the past ten miles.

"The townspeople said the monster appeared around here."

"But I don't sense anything," the reaper pointed out. His sense of perception was extremely tuned, and he couldn't sense the monster anywhere near them. It looked like Kid couldn't either, judging by the frown on his face. He was about to turn around when Patty spoke up. "What's that noise? Sounds like someone farting! Ahehehe!"

A rumbling sound was coming from the east. The group scanned the horizon, looking for movement. Though they saw nothing, the ground began to shake beneath their feet. Kid signaled the Thompson sisters to switch to gun form as Shinigami and Eibon exchanged awkward glances.

The rumbling grew closer and closer, putting the kids even more on edge. Even Shinigami was quiet for once, his face screwed into concentration. Suddenly, a new soul appeared. Two! Where were they? He pinpointed them. Underground?

All of a sudden, the earth burst, scattering snow. A man wearing caribou antlers riding a bear sprang from the ground in a miraculous show.

"It's a man with antlers!" Kid shouted incredulously.

"Riding a bear!" Patty added with just as much wonder in her voice.

"Eh?" was all Shinigami and Eibon could manage, both dumbstruck.

The bear roared and struck the spot where the group was standing. The two teams fell back. Kid twirled his guns and flicked them to his right and left in a battle-ready position. Eibon transformed his arm into a scythe blade and tried his best to look intimidating. Shinigami still stood there with the same bewildered expression on his face.

"Is that really a Kishin?" he yelled to Kid. Kid nodded, a bit confused. He thought his father battled kishin all the time. Why the sudden confusion? "Kishin Eggs. They're evil human souls."

Shinigami glanced back to the human on the bear. _But..._ His golden eyes spun, the irises blackening. Purple swirls replaced the black ones, replicating the eyeholes in the older Shinigami's mask. _His soul looks different from other kishin._ The kishin that Shinigami had faced in his time had souls that were nearly crusted over with insanity. This one's soul looked so exposed, hardly any armor at all. It looked too fragile, too...human.

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter."

* * *

><p>"It's a good thing we're not here to sight-see, because we're in the most offbeat town in a country that has absolutely nothing to offer."<p>

"Good. You won't get distracted."

"Hey! I never get distracted!"

Maka and Soul approached the gates to the city, where multiple armed guards were waiting for them on a bridge. Maka withdrew her Shibusen ID from her coat pocket and showed it to the nearest guard. He eyed it and then glanced at her in disbelief. "You are the Shibusen team they sent? It's a witch in the forests."

"We're trained to handle these situations," Maka explained calmly, not for the first time.

The guard examined her closely for a moment before pointing in the direction of the forest. Though the way was obvious, Maka nodded in appreciation. She advanced through the fog, Soul trailing closely behind her. He was quiet now. He always fell silent just before missions. Maka wished he would do so earlier.

After a few moments of walking through thick fog, they reached the entrance to the forest.

The witch's hiding place.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Shinigami's Ultra Super Secret Skill!<strong>_

**Shinigami: **Eh?

**Kid: **No.

**Shinigami: **Eh?

**Kid: **No.

**Shinigami: **Eh?

**Kid: **No.

**Shinigami: **Eh?

**Kid: **No.

**Shinigami: **...

**Kid: **...

**Shinigami: **Eh?

**Kid: **Fine.

_**It's getting what he wants.**_

* * *

><p><em><em>**Shinigami: **Hey wait! I didn't get to announce the title of the next chapter yet!

**Kid:** Hurry, we don't have much time. The readers are probably clicking the back button right now.

**Shinigami:** Well...now the mood is ruined.

**Kid:** Chichiue!

**Shinigami****:** Right! Sorry! The next chapter is _The Realization! Who's That Witch?_ Read it, or I'll take your soul!

**Maka:** Hey! Make up your own lines!

* * *

><p>AN: omg i'm so so sorry for no update! ;;;; I had some trouble with pacing and such. I think I've got enough organized for a couple more chapters, but we'll see. I also have to write a bunch for my creative writing class, which I procrastinated on by working on this fanfic OTL. My group members are going to dismember me ;w;

also, I have no idea what a Slovenian accent sounds like :I so I guessed. sorry, ancestors.


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